Category: Foods & Nutrition

Grill Off: The Grilled Cheese Challenge

Ever get caught up in watching the food competition shows on the Food Network channel?  I do…so I decided to challenge my students to be innovative and creative with the basic grilled cheese sandwich in our “Grill Off Competition!” Class…

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Promoting Whole Foods

When it comes to my food, I like to keep it REAL! Growing up real foods came from the garden and fruit trees we grew, harvested and preserved. Real muffins, cookies, and desserts were made from the eggs we gathered daily from our backyard chickens and real meats came from the wild game my father hunted and fished for. Home cooked meals were prepared by my mother and were made with real foods with ingredients I actually knew and could pronounce. Sadly, the majority of my students don’t know what it means to eat real. All they know is the pre-packaged, easy to make foods known as processed. This lesson explains the differences between the whole, real foods I know and the processed foods they know and hopefully gives them “food for thought” when it comes to making REAL changes in their eating habits.

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Time to Feed the Baby: Homemade or Store Bought?

  New parents are faced with a lot of new experiences and decisions that need to be made.  Upon birth a new parent must decide whether or not to breast feed or bottle feed. Then when the infant reaches approximately…

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Spaghetti Squash: Best Kept Secret

Looking for a guilt free, low calorie, alternative to pasta that will surprise your taste-buds?  Look no more!  Spaghetti squash is one of those best kept secrets that needs to be shared!  Not only is it easy to prepare, but versatile too.  So what are you waiting for?  Swap out that pasta for spaghetti squash and encourage your students and their families to try experiment and try something NEW.

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Chobani Flip Muffins

Chobani and Muller have both come out with these fascinatingly delicious yogurt cups that have a side container of various toppings. These are not only great to eat but also an easy way to make unique muffins in a snap without having to buy lots of extra ingredients.

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Crazy for Crepes

Thinking about some new ideas for middle school labs got me to thinking about a lab I did early in my teaching career when I taught a foreign foods cooking class.   At the time we were studying French cuisine and the lab was making homemade CREPES.   Initially I was intimidated by crepes because they looked too difficult and fancy, but after working through some demonstrations with my students I found they really were a lot easier to prepare than they looked!  Crepes are basically really thin, delicate pancakes filled with a sweet or savory filling.  Since I know teenagers love desserts and chocolate is a favorite filling, I thought I would explore a recipe that would combine the two popular ingredients  along with fruit and work a creative crepe lab back into the curriculum.

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Assessments in a Bag

This idea came about because I was looking for an alternate way to assess my students about their knowledge of a particular unit or topic besides administering a test.  Instead, I developed a partner or small group interactive, cooperative based…

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Homemade Hotdog Buns

School is wrapping up and I’m sure if you’re like most of us you have several end of the year class or faculty picnics to attend. Chances are, hot dogs and hamburgers will be served at these events. Ever thought about having your culinary students make homemade buns for these events? What a great way to get a lesson sponsored!

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Poultry Unit: Cutting up a Whole Chicken & Frying it

High school students can be know-it-alls especially those who cook at home. However, this lab seems to keep everyone interested as it is rare to find a student, or a cook for that matter, that actually knows how to butcher a chicken. Of course some students are resistant to having to touch a raw chicken however with the right student pairing I’ve had luck keeping everyone engaged.

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